Author: DWAG Communication

Dear Secretary of State Blinken and members of the mediation team,

Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) and the undersigned Sudanese women civil society leaders, activists, refugees, and displaced persons in the diaspora and Sudan, extend our gratitude to you and the

U.S. government for taking steps to address the suffering of the Sudanese people. We are writing to you now with urgency to sound the alarm on the escalating violence, increased severe humanitarian crisis, and the critical need for civilian protection in Darfur and across Sudan. Today’s crisis, fueled by long-standing impunity and inaction regarding crimes committed in Darfur over the past two decades, demands immediate intervention. We urge the U.S. government and all stakeholders to take robust action to deliver desperately needed lifesaving humanitarian aid and authorize UN-led forces to protect civilians before it is too late.

Sudan has been engulfed in a vicious war that has brought untold suffering to the women, men, and children of Sudan. Since April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been engaged in a senseless war and have committed heinous crimes against the people of Sudan, including crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. The violence, which began in Khartoum, rapidly escalated across the country, with Darfur experiencing the most devastating atrocities, including the ethnic slaughter of the Masalit and other indigenous African communities. While the RSF continues to occupy, indiscriminately shell and loot civilians’ homes, by using rape, sexual and gender-based violence as a tactic of war, the SAF are employing heavy artillery shelling, air strikes, and indiscriminate attacks mainly targeting civilians’ homes, markets, essential public services, and evacuation routes. Women and girls as young as 10 years of age have been abducted and raped numerous times, sometimes, in front of their families in an attempt to break the families’ will and destroy their dignity.

In addition, the deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers and local volunteers in Darfur is extremely concerning, as it has severely undermined aid operations and put millions of people at high risk of starvation. Both warring parties have employed starvation as a weapon of warfare against innocent civilians by blocking humanitarian access. As a result, over 10 million people are displaced within Sudan, trapped with nowhere to go, many dying in silence. It is estimated that more than 2 people million have fled the country as refugees, living in deplorable conditions in neighboring countries, lacking even the most basic means of survival. The UN has warned that over 26 million Sudanese are facing acute hunger, with famine already declared in Darfur, where hundreds are dying in displacement camps with no shelter, as the rainy season and increasing flood have exacerbated their suffering beyond description.

We are saddened and appalled by the lack of international attention and action on Sudan. When the war erupted and aid agencies fled, our people were left to fend for themselves amid the brutality. It was the women, youth, civil society in Sudan, and the diaspora who have taken on the challenge of helping our people survive, but it has become nearly impossible due to insecurity and restrictions imposed by both sides. For 16 months, we have been dehumanized, forced to witness our families being slaughtered, trapped, and left to die in silence. Recent attacks in El Jazeera and Sinar States have devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands, with the RSF killing civilians, looting properties, and seizing control of grain warehouses, further exacerbating the suffering of those forced to flee during the heavy rainy season.

The siege and escalated attacks in El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur, have resulted in some of the deadliest mass atrocities. The severe restrictions on movement, the blockade of medical supplies brought by aid groups, and widespread insecurity, have led to a scarcity of essential services and skyrocketing costs of food, water, and fuel. RSF fighters have burned over forty villages surrounding El Fasher, intentionally crippling the food supply and increasing vulnerability as part of a deliberate tactic to exacerbate civilian suffering. RSF bombardment of all three hospitals and the last two clinics in El Fasher, while patients were still inside, with over 900 patients now left with no medical attention, highlights the severity of the crisis. According to UNICEF, at least seventy-seven hospitals across Sudan have come under attack since the war began, though the true number is likely far higher. These actions are clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and perpetrators must be dealt with accordingly.

The crisis in Sudan is of a global magnitude and requires a global response. As the U.S.-led negotiations on Sudan’s civil war approach on August 14, 2024, the international community must prioritize the urgency facing the Sudanese people rather than prolong negotiations. Both warring parties, led by Sudanese generals, have repeatedly promised a cessation of hostilities but have failed to honor ceasefire agreements since the conflict began. The U.S. and stakeholders in Geneva must use this meeting to bring together the coalition of those willing to collectively intervene and save civilian lives before it is too late. We, therefore, urge you to take the following steps to swiftly end the crisis in Sudan:

1. The U.S. and its allies in Geneva must demand that the warring parties issue a public call on their troops to stop attacks, adhere to immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities, end the siege on El Fasher and all other cities, and generally halt the killing across Sudan.
2. The warring parties must halt all attacks against women and humanitarian workers.
3. The warring parties must agree to women’s participation by no less than 50% in all aspects of the peace process, including ceasefire negotiations, peacekeeping operations, and other processes related to the resolution of the conflict.
4. Call for the immediate deployment of UN-led forces under Chapter VII to protect civilians in conflict zones of Sudan to prevent further atrocities against vulnerable populations.
5. Publicly recognize the use of starvation as a weapon of warfare in Sudan to prevent further loss of life and ensure that unhindered humanitarian aid reaches those in desperate need, particularly in El Fasher, Central Sudan, and Sinar areas.
6. Call on countries that violate the existing sanctions or arms embargoes against Sudan to stop and they must, subsequently, face accountability
7. Impose travel bans and other sanctions as punitive measures on parties that refuse to end the violence or allow humanitarian aid.

Thank you for your kind consideration. With Gratitude,

Niemat Ahmadi, DWAG President

For the safety of those involved, the list of the other 100 signatories has been removed.

Darfur’s genocide has been ongoing for over 24 years – and the number of civilian casualties increases every day while the world remains SILENT!

Dear DWAG Supporters:

We are reaching out to you with an urgent appeal! Since November 2023, with the exception of El Fasher in North Darfur, Darfur has fallen entirely under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In El Geneina, West Darfur alone, the RSF has slaughtered between 10,000 to 15,000 people, with countless more casualties across Darfur and Sudan going undocumented. Civilian deaths have escalated to alarming rates, yet the world remains silent. In a recent report, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) confirmed that a child dies every two hours in Zamzam camp, in North Darfur. Before this crisis, Darfur was home to over 122 internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, where 3 million people had lived for over two decades. They remain unable to return home, their lands stolen, and their attackers still unpunished. The international community’s inaction indirectly legitimizes the slaughter and extermination of Sudan’s indigenous African population—this is why we urgently need your help.

Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in violence, sparked by a power struggle between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). This war has torn the country apart, causing unspeakable suffering. The RSF has occupied civilians’ homes, using rape and sexual violence as weapons of war, while the SAF’s shelling and bombardment have destroyed homes, markets, and essential infrastructure. In both Khartoum and Darfur, RSF fighters have committed widespread sexual and gender-based violence, including abductions and sexual slavery. Starvation is now being used as a weapon of war by both sides.

While the atrocities in Khartoum constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, in Darfur, active genocide is being systematically carried out against indigenous Africans. The international community must act immediately to end the violence and hold those responsible accountable.

Patterns of Ethnically Targeted Attacks and Extermination of Indigenous Africans in Darfur

The RSF’s attacks in Darfur are systematic and explicitly aimed at the indigenous African population. Civilians have been massacred, and deprived of food, water, and medical assistance, with the RSF deliberately cutting off all means of survival. As a result, a large portion of the population has been forced into mass displacement since the start of the conflict. This genocidal strategy has been most apparent in El Geneina, West Darfur, where an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 indigenous Masalit people were brutally murdered by the RSF and its allied militias. Similar atrocities have unfolded in Kutum and Tawila in North Darfur, Mornay in West Darfur, and Nyala in South Darfur, where countless lives have been lost, and residents forced to flee their homes. Many survivors have taken refuge in El Fasher, now internally displaced persons (IDPs), but they remain under the threat of further attacks.

El Fasher is far from a safe haven. The city is under continuous shelling, with civilians and healthcare infrastructure being targeted. Major roads in and out of the city are blocked, preventing the movement of humanitarian aid. The Zamzam camp, home to 500,000 displaced people, has been attacked, and the situation is further worsened by devastating floods, which have made it even harder for people to flee.

Despite a recent U.S.-led ceasefire negotiation between the warring parties in Switzerland, attacks on civilians continue, particularly in displacement camps. Life-saving humanitarian aid remains blocked, and the suffering is only deepening with outbreaks of disease. Now more than ever, we must ensure that swift and decisive action for civilian protection and humanitarian aid is taken by the U.S., the UN, and the African Union to stop this genocide and save lives.

The Danger of Darfur Under Full Control By The RSF

Currently, over 98% of Darfur is in a state of chaos, with the region almost entirely out of government control. Darfur, an area the size of France, is now dominated by the RSF, with only two cities partially controlled by the SAF. The RSF has intensified its attacks, seizing homes, blocking civilians’ movement, and tightening its grip on the region. If this continues, it could mark the final stage of the extermination of Darfur’s indigenous people, including survivors of the 2003 genocide.

The RSF and Janjaweed militias are repeating the horrors of the 2003 genocide on a larger and more devastating scale. Once limited to attacks on horseback, the Janjaweed have evolved into the nationally recognized RSF, equipped with advanced weapons and backed by powerful regional and international supporters. Unlike in 2003, no international humanitarian agencies, journalists, or UN diplomats are allowed in Darfur, leaving genocide victims to fend for themselves. The RSF has consolidated its control over Darfur’s five states, establishing itself as one of the most systematic genocidal forces in history. Despite this, world leaders remain silent or offer only minimal condemnation.

We at DWAG Say NO to the silence against the ongoing and escalating genocide in Darfur!

The Presence of Multinational Troops in Darfur

The RSF has proven to be a multi-national militia. While the majority of its troops are from Sudan, many more are from West and Central African countries, including Arab militias respectively from the Republic of Mali, Niger, Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya. The introduction of cross-border uncontrolled troops alone proves to be a dangerous trend. With the history of terrorist activities from Sudan to Mali in the region, if left unchecked, those temporary militia forces may evolve into ISIS or al-Qaeda army-like regional extremist forces, fueling crises that both international and regional actors will be forced to respond to – but it will be too late to contain them. Such a regional supply of troops from various countries equally makes control or a solution at the national level impossible. Therefore, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is not just a regional issue—it is a global catastrophe

What You Can Do To Help

In the face of genocide and current unspeakable atrocities, solutions must take an atrocity prevention approach that starts with civilian protection and distribution of humanitarian aid. This should be followed by pursuing accountability for the most serious international crimes, which will then create an environment that enables the peaceful transformation of Sudan.

Therefore, we need you to add your voices to ours to call on the U.S. government and the member states of the UNSC to take the following steps:

• Intervene robustly to protect civilians and to stop the genocide in Darfur.
• Open an unhindered humanitarian accessibility channel in Sudan and Darfur, in particular, to reach all those in need.
• Pursue accountability for those most responsible for past and current genocide behavior, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur and across the Sudan.
• Impose targeted sanctions, such as freezing assets, imposing travel bans, sanctioning all businesses associated with the two warring generals in Sudan, and cutting the funding for weapons.
• Deploy immediate humanitarian intervention to all in need inside Sudan and in the neighboring countries with and without the permission of the government.
• Hold the regional enablers of the genocide in Darfur accountable, including regional and international actors supplying funds and weaponry to the RSF.
• Provide support to Civil Society Organizations and women from historically marginalized Sudanese to have the capacity and voice at all levels of decision-making processes regarding solutions to the current crises.

Other Ways To Help

• Send our “Letter To The Congress” that contains all of our demands and requests https://staging.darfurwomenaction.org/press_release/sudan-needs-you-campaign-a-letter-to-congress/ to your representatives and call their offices to ask that they be the voice for the people of Sudan and demand U.S. leadership in ending genocide and holding perpetrators accountable.
• Donate to DWAG https://staging.darfurwomenaction.org/donate/ or other organizations providing support to the local-level emergency response initiatives in Sudan.
• Join and support our campaign Sudan Needs You! and share it via your social media platform with 100 people.

The crisis in Sudan and the catastrophe in Darfur are of global magnitude which requires global response but if we can speak in one voice and demand our government and the UN to work for an end, we can end this genocide and hold perpetrators accountable.

With our collective effort, we can make a difference!

Download This Template!

Stand With the People of Sudan

[Your Name]

[City], [State] [Postal Code]

Phone: [Your Phone]  Fax: [Your Fax]

E-Mail: [Your E-Mail]

Date: [Insert date here]

 

The Honorable [Name of Elected Representative]

[Address of Elected Representative’s Office]

**You can find the contact information for your elected representative at Congress.org. (Please ensure to remove this message from your finalized letter)**

 

Dear [Representative or Senator xxxxx],

 

As [a] member[s] of your constituency, [I am\We are] gravely concerned about the suffering of the people of Sudan as the humanitarian crisis worsens every day. For years, many members of Congress spoke out against the genocide in Darfur and called for accountability for Omar al-Bashir. However, now that al-Bashir has been ousted, the world has forgotten Darfur, even as two of Bashir’s close associates continue to commit genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Sudan. Therefore, I am reaching out with urgency and to ask you to be a voice for the people of Sudan, particularly Darfur as atrocities continue to increase. [I/We] need you to stand with the people of Sudan by asking the Biden Administration to take serious measures and lead the U.N. Security Council to immediately deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid and authorize civilian protection forces to protect the vulnerable and hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable.

 

Sudan has been engulfed in a vicious war that has brought untold suffering to the people of Sudan. Since April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have engaged in a senseless war, plunging the entire country into a catastrophic crisis in which heinous crimes are committed against the people of Sudan daily. The violence, which began in Khartoum, rapidly escalated across the country, with Darfur experiencing the most devastating atrocities, including the ethnic slaughter of the Masalit people and other indigenous African communities in Darfur. While the RSF continues to occupy, indiscriminately shell, and loot civilians’ homes, using rape, sexual, and gender-based violence as tactics of war, the SAF are employing heavy artillery shelling, air strikes, and indiscriminate attacks; predominantly targeting civilians’ homes, markets, essential public services, and evacuation routes.

 

With Darfur experiencing the most horrific bloodshed, 15,000 people have been slaughtered in El Geneina- a city in West Darfur- alone, where ethnic massacres of the Masalit and other indigenous African communities in Darfur have left a trail of death and devastation. Women and girls as young as 10 years of age have been abducted and raped countless times by RSF forces on ethnic bases, sometimes, in front of their families in an attempt to break the families’ and community’ will and destroy their dignity. The final report of the U.N. Panel of Experts on Sudan confirmed the occurrence of widespread and escalating conflict-related sexual violence, including kidnapping, rape, and sexual exploitation against women and girls during RSF attacks on both Khartoum and Darfur. Moreover, the U.N. fact-finding mission recently reported that serious international crimes have continued to be perpetrated by both the RSF and SAF, including mass rape, sexual slavery, child recruitment, and indiscriminate shelling of innocent civilians. The report also revealed that both factions are responsible for the destruction of essential public services- including electricity, water, and communications- intended to isolate and silence the people of Sudan.

 

Over 26 million people in Sudan are facing acute hunger, with famine having been officially declared in Darfur. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported that a child dies every two hours in the Darfur displacement camps. Both the RSF and SAF have systematically used starvation as a weapon of war and death against civilian populations, leaving countless to die in silence. Over 10 million people have been displaced internally, trapped in a war zone with no escape and minimal means of survival. More than 2 million people, most of whom are women and children, have been forced to cross the borders into neighboring countries and live in deplorable conditions. The atrocities are mounting and the Sudanese people continue to suffer while the world watches.

 

Given the ongoing atrocities, [I/We] urge you to stand with the people of Sudan, both in ending the longest genocide in our history and in securing a safe, just, democratic future for the people of Sudan. [I/We] urge you to leverage your influence in Congress to advocate for these priorities and to encourage your colleagues to do the same. We appreciate your kind consideration of the following recommendations:

 

1. Make Sudan a primary focus, calling for urgent action to deliver humanitarian aid and protect civilians, especially those in areas under siege;
2. Demand immediate, unconditional ceasefires from both the RSF and SAF, and call for an end to the attacks on civilians, humanitarian workers, and vital infrastructure, including hospitals and aid convoys;
3. Impose immediate targeted sanctions with travel bans on parties obstructing humanitarian efforts and perpetuating violence;
4. Call for the expansion of the existing arms embargo in Darfur to the entirety of Sudan to stop the supply of weapons, ammunition, and other support to the warring parties and prevent the further escalation of violence;
5. Impose sanctions to hold warring parties accountable for past and present crimes committed in Darfur and Sudan.

 

The people of Sudan, Sudanese Americans, and members of your constituency look to you as a beacon of hope in these dark times. Your unwavering support gives us confidence that the U.S. will not ignore its obligation under international law. [I/We] look up to you and kindly urge you to be [my/our] voice and the voice for those voiceless in Sudan by supporting these immediate actions.

 

Thank you for your kind consideration.

 

Sincerely,

The undersigned

In partnership with Darfur Women Action Group

www.darfurwomenaction.org